Apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like



1. c. CONN.

APPARATUS FOR AITACHING BELT HOOK S TO BELTS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATIONFILED 05031, 1921.

1,436,3Q6 Patented Nov. 21, 1922,

6 SHEET SHEET I.

INVENTOR BY ZN; Met,

ZJATTORN Y fi J. C. CONN.

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BELT HOOKS T0 BELTS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATIONFILED DEC. 31, 1921 1,436,306. Patented W2 6 SHEET HEET Z.

Wilm- C CWMWWL 4 M J I @w ATTORNEYS J. C. CONN. APPARATUS FOR ATTACHINGBELT HOOKS T0 BELTS AND THE LIKE. APPLI CATION FILED DEC. 31. 1921.

1 ggg Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

6 SHEETSSHEET 3.

MIIIIWW E MHHQHHIIM INVENTOR TTORNEYS J. C. CONN.

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BELT HOOKS T0 BEL TS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-31, 192ll,36,36, Patented Nov. 21, 1922,,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

IEYENTOR I l/w/ ATTORNEYS J. C. CONN.

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BELT HOOKS TO BELTS AND THE LIKE. AFPLICATIONFILED DEC.31, 1921.

1,436,396,, Patented Nov. 21, 19229 6SHEETSSHEET 5.

,1" .Il' :5 16 I LNVENTOR iv ATTORNEYJ 1. 0. 00mm. APPARATUS FPRATTACHING BELT HOOKS T0 BELTS AND THE LIKE APPLICATION FILED DEC.31|1921.

Patented Nov. 211, 1922a LQSG SOG,

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

' V UNVENTOR Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

warren stare P'A ll hihl'l tii li' lfi Fits.

aosnrn o. CONN, or eoonron, NEW .InnsE' Assrenort '10' otrrr'nn BELTLAGER ooiarnnr, or ennui) RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

APPARATUS FOR ATIAGHING BELT HOOKS 'IO BELTS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed December 31, 1921. Serial No. 526,340.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmownthat I, Josrlrn C. CONN, a

citizen or the United States, and a resident of Boonton, Morris County,State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus forAttaching Belt Hooks t-o Belts and the like, of which the following isa. specification.

The present invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for attachng belt hooks to belts and the like. One of the ob"- jects of thisinvention is to provide a hand operated device for applying belthooksand the like in such a manner that the pro-geoting ends'oi' thehooks will be in exact alignment and relates more particularly to set--ting hooks that are of the type intended to accommodate akey or pintl'eto form a hinge connection between the connected ends of the belt.

Belt hooks the character referred to are marketed usually in gangs orcards comprising a suitable support for a plurality of hooks arrangedwith their respective parts in alignment spaced equal distances apart,usually the distance which is appropriate both to the size of the-hooksand to the size of the belt to which the hooks are to be applied. Inuse, one row of hooks is applied to one end of the belt in apredetermined position and a similar row of hooks is applied. to theother end of the belt in a 'ively oit'set position with respect to thementioned set so that, when the ends of the belt are brought togetherthe rounded or bent outer ends or loops or the hooks seemed to one endof the belt will mesh with the corresponding loops of the other end ofthe belt and a key or pintle is passed through the intermeshed loops toform a hinge joint.

In practice, various means have been employed for attaching hooks ofthis character to the ends of belts. One 01 the objects of thisinvention is to provide a device which will effectively embed thepenetrating ends or the prongs of the hooks in very wide or thickbelting which owing to the extreme toughness of the leather or othermaterial of the belt offers great resistance to the simultaneous passageof the prongs therethrough. This resistance has in fact imposed a.limitation upon the size of attaching devices which simultaneouslyattach hooks to large belts, so that it is customary to use smallerdevices and to repeat the operation in successive sections or incrementsas man t1mes, as may be necessary to attach all of the hooks requiredfor a single edge or end of the belt. This not only takes considerabletime but it also involves the danger of the hooks not being positionedevenly or, with their outer or loop ends in exact alignment. Theimportance of having accurate allgnment will be readily understood inView of the necessity of transmitting the strain evenly on each belthook across the entire width of the belt and of the connecting elementor pint-1e rather than across a relatively narrow or restricted portionsthereof.

The difliculties and shortcomings are obviated by using my improvedapparatus which causes the hooks to be successively pressed intopenetrating engagement with the belt by application of closing pressureto the hook shanks successively and in a number of increments dependingupon the thickness of the belt and other considerations. In other words,instead oi simultaneously pressing in the prongs of all of the hooks atone and the same time, as is now commonly done, I provice an apparatustopress the prongs of each hook independently to a predetermined degreeand repeat the pressing operation over the whole set or row until therequired degree of penetration of all the prongs is attained. If boththe hiltand the loop of the hook members are held rigidly during theentire pressing or penetrating operation, there would be a tendency ofthe hooks to strain the material of the belt; Accordingly, I provide myapparatus with means to hold both the belt and the hooks only until theprongs are sufficiently engaged with the belt to support itindependently of other means. I then continue the pressing in of theprongs either with the belt free to move endwise or with the hookstree'to move endwise. uniformly to maintain alignment of the loop endsThus, no straining or tearing of the material is encountered as thepenetration progresses and no undue strain or stress is imposed upon theapparatus employed.

By applying pressure to each hook indii' 'idua-lly. I am enabled toattach at one operation the necessary or desired number ct hooks to anywidth 01": belting or other material that may be required. Furthermore,the loop ends of the extending or exposed portions of the hooks, when inattached position, will all be in exact align ment and when used to formthe hinge joint between the belt ends, the tension strain will bedistributed equally across the entire width of the belt through asuitable connecting member such as a key or pintle made of raw hide,bamboo, or other suitable material.

One embodiment of apparatus suitable for practicing the methodhereinabove described is illustrated in the drawings accompanying thepresent specification and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation,

Figure 2, a central longitudinal vertical section,

Figure 3, a top plan view,

Figure 4, an end view,

Figure 5, a detail fragmentary view in perspective of the belt engagingand re taining mechanism, 7

Figure 6, a view illustrating a type of hinge connection involving theuse of belt hooks,

Figure 7, a view in perspective of one of the presser members,

' Figure 8, a central transverse vertical section or" the apparatus,

Figure 9, a fragmentary view in vertical section showing the position ofthe parts in readiness for operation,

Figure 10, a similar view showing the position of the parts upon thecompletion of the attaching operation,

Figure 11, a top plan view of the rolling carriage,

Figure 12, a central longitudinal vertical section thereof, and

Figure 13, a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of the pressermembers and their actuating means.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings comprises broadly a suitablebase or frame means for holding a belt end in ct fective operativeposition, means for supporting a plurality of belt hooks in position tohave their prongs pressed intd penetrat ing engagement with the belt endand means for pressing said prongs into penetrating engagement with thebelt material. In de tail, a preferred form of this apparatus includes arigid substantially arch-shaped frame 1, having uprights supportingspaced longitudinally extending cross members which form carriagesupporting and guiding ways 1, between which are located longitudinallyslid-able cam or wedge carriers 2, Figures 5 and 8, provided with wedgecams 3 and supported and slidable upon transversely extending crossmembers 01 the frame. A bracket 5 at one end of the frame supports apivot mounting 6 for a comb or hook holder 7. the other end of which issupported in a bearing 8 secured to a bracket therewith.

9 and locked in position by a removable pin 10.

The belt holding mechanism includes a pair of cooperating, transverselyslidable the apparatus, said sliding members 2 being secured together atboth ends by cross members 15 and 16. Thus, when the members 2 are movedlongitudinally in the direction of the arrows, Figure 3, the grippingmembers 11 will be moved transversely toward each other andinto grippingcontact with an interposed article such as a belt 17 and againstpressure of the springs 12. When the sliding members 2 are pulled. backor moved in the opposite direction, the gripping members 11 will moveaway from each other thus releasing the belt 17, the outward move mentof said members 11 being effected by means of the springs 12. In orderto permit more effective gripping engagement be tween the grippers andthe belt, the inner or effective belt engaging edges of the grip persare slightly grooved or otherwise deformed.

The comb or holder 7 hereinabove referred to is provided with aplurality of hook spacing members or teeth 18 forming hook receivingrecesses, Figures 8, 9 and 10, havin aligned perforations 20 which formin eli ect a continuous passageway for a locking or hook supporting rod21 slidably movable into and out of engagement In placing or assemblingthe hook-s for attachment, the loop ends thereof are inserted into therecesses between the teeth of the holder and the rod 21 is pushed intoplace so that when the holder is arranged as shown in Figures 8 to 10inclusive, the hooks will hang suspended upon the said rod 21 in spacedrelation with their shanks extended and straddling the end of the belt17 and in position to be acted upon by presser mechanism hereinafter tobe de scribed. The con-1b or holder T being pivotally mounted at may bereadily swung into and out oi position so that it is remoable or readilyaccessible in order to position the hooks therein.

The attaching device as illustrated also includes cooperating sets ofhook pressing members or pressers 22 each slidable trans versely towardand away from the belt 17. The inner ends of each opposed pair ofpressing members 22 are arranged to engage the respective opposed shanksof a single 1 ,aaeeoe hook. In the illustrated embodiment of a preferredform of hook attaching appara tus, the pressers are supported upon andslide transversely across the upper surfaces of the grippers 11, thegripper actuating slide rods 2, and the bed or frame, being retained inproper transverse alignment between abutment guides 23 and 24 located atthe respective ends of the sets of presscrs. To maintain substantiallongitudinal ali nment and to permit the pressers to be moved as sets,each set is provided with suitable connecting means which will permitthe de-- sired set movement without hindering a certain amount ofindividual movement as between. adjacent pressers in the same set, saidmeans being shown as bars or rods 25 and 26 passing through holes 27 inthe pressers, Figure 7, aligned to form a substantially continuouspassageway through each set. The upper or exposed edges of the pressersare. cut away uniformly as at 28, to provide, when the pressers in eachset are aligned, a channel for accommodating a part or parts of thepresser actuating mechanism hereinafter to be described and to presentthereto outwardly disposed contact surfaces 29 positioned to cooperatewith said part or parts of the actuating mechanism.

As shown in the drawings and more particularly in Figures 8, l1 and 12.thereof a preferred form of presser actuating mechanism includes acarriage adapted to ride upon bearings provided by the ways a and archedso that it may readily pass back and forth above the hook holder 7 andthe sliding pressers 22. The framework of the can riagte comprises sideplates 30 and 31, Figure 11. end braces 32 and 33 and a central brace34;, lugs 35 being formed on the lower corners of the plates 30 and 31to guide the carriage and retain it in operative position on the ways 4.

Between the side plates are cooperating: roll carrying members orcarriers 36 and 37 having longitudinally extending right and left handthreaded holes respectively adapted to engage and receive a screw havingright and left hand threaded portions 38 and 39 respectively. The brace34 carries two depending lugs 40 and 41,, shown in dotted lines, Figure11. which are positioned between flanges 42 and 43 on the screw toprevent endwise movement thereof and to maintain the carriers in centralposition. The carriers 36 and 37 are provided with guiding recesses orslots at and 4.5 respectively, horizontal surfaces of which engage andslide upon surfaces of guide pins a6 and 47 respectively. which aresupported between the. side plates 30 and 31, being retained inoperative position by locking: pins The -ar riers 36 and 37 areprovided. with studs 49 and 50 respectively, having; rolls 51 andsupported on ball bearings at their respective depending ends, In theform of device shown in the drawings, the screw passes through the studs49 and 50 as well as through the corresponding carriers as describedabove, and is provided at each end with a grip 52' secured in anysuitable man-. ner.

In operating my belt hook attaching device the hooks required for oneend oi' a given belt are positioned in the hook holder 7 which is thensecured in operative position as hereinabove described. The belt endthen inserted in a vertical direction between the grippers 11 until theedge passes between the spaced prongs of the hooks and bears against theouter ends of the row of depending teeth or projections l8 of the combor holder. The operator then pushes the slides 2 and the wedge portionscarried thereby in a direction to move the grippers ll into beltgripping position, where they remain with no other locking; required,Both sets of pressers are then pushed by hand into engagement with thehook shanks and the rolls on the carriage are positioned by rotating thescrew by means of the hand grips 52 so that said rolls will readily fitinto the recesses or grooves 28 when the carriage positioned on the ways4-. A relatively slight adjustment of the roll iarriers by means of thescrew brings the rolls into contact with surfaces 29 of both sets ofpressers and the pressers are initially aligns-d by a run of thecarriage in one direction. Additional turns of the screw will to bringthe rolls closer together and as they move back and forth in rollingcontact with the surfaces 29 they exert actuating pressure thereon andi'orce the respective pressers against the hook shanks in controllableincrements. is soon as the points of the prongs have engaged the beltsuiiiciently to hold it in position without the aid of the gri 'ipers,the slides 2 will be drawn back thus permitting the grippers to releasethe belt which will then hang: suspended on the rod 2i by means of theloops of the hooks.

Repeated traverses or runs of the carriage together with further turnsof the roll adjusting screw will continue he reni-itratinn movei'nent ofthe prongs into the belt or other material until they reach the requiredposition or substantially as shown in Figure 10. whereupon the rollcarriage is lifted off or otherwise removed and the rod 2].

withdrawn from the hook holder to toward and away therefrom, each member111 said set being positioned to engage and press a corresponding hookshank toward the belt, and means for actuating said members.

2. Apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like comprisingbelt supporting means, a plurality of hook pressing members movabletoward and away from the belt, means for supporting a plurality of belthooks with their shanks positioned between the presser members and thebelt and with their prongs extending toward the belt, and rollingcontact means for engaging said presser members to impart efiective hookpressing movement thereto, including a presser member engaging rollerand a carrier therefor, said roller being adjustably mounted on saidcarrier.

3. Apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like comprisingbelt supporting means, a plurality of hook pressing members movabletoward and away from the belt, means for supporting a plurality of belthooks with their shanks positioned between the presser members and thebelt and with their prongs extending toward the belt, rolling contactmeans for engaging said presser members to impart effective hookpressing movement thereto, and means for adjusting said rolling contactmeans to vary the extent of said effective hook pressing movement of thepresser members.

In apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like, thecombination of belt supporting means, hook supporting means, opposedsets of book messing members, and means for simultaneously actuating0pposed individual presser members in said sets, including opposedrollers mounted to engage the respective sets of hook pressing members.

5. In apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like, thecombination of belt supporting means, hook supporting means, opposedsets of hook pressing members, means for simultaneously actuatingopposed individual presser members in each set, and means tor adjustingsaid actuating members to vary the extent of effective hook pressingmovement of the presser members.

6, In apparatus tor attaching belt hooks to belts and the like, thecombination of means for holding the belt, hook positioning means, andmeans for pressing the hook prongs into the belt comprising a series ofmembers slidable toward and away from the belt, means for successivelyactuating said presser members, and means for moving the presserengaging portion of said actuating means to vary the extent of effectivemovement of the pressers.

7. Apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like comprisingmeans for s11 porting a plurality of belt hooks with their prongsextended to receive a belt, a plurality of hook engaging pressuremembers, and means movable in a direction normal to the direction ofpenetration of the prongs to move the same toward and into penetratingengagement with a belt.

8. Apparatus for attaching belt hooks and the like comprising means forsupporting a plurality of hooks with their shanks extended in beltreceiving relation and means for pressing the prongs of one set ofshanks toward the other set of shanks to engage a belt including aplurality of contiguous independently movable pressing members eachengaging a shank of said hooks and means for effectively moving saidpressing members.

9. In apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like, thecombination of hook supporting means, opposed sets of book pressingmembers, and means in rolling contact with said presser members toadvance the same in effective hook pressing operation.

10. In apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and thelike, thecombination of opposed sets of book pressing members and means separatetherefrom and movable successively from one presser member to the nextfor simultaneously advancing individual opposed members of said setstoward each other.

ll. In apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like, thecombination of opposed sets of hook pressing members and means movablefrom one hook pressing member to the next for simultaneously advancing,individual opposed members of said sets,

l2. Apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like comprisinga frame providing spaced carriage supporting ways, a carriage slidablymounted thereon and carrying spaced rollers, means for Supporting belthooks in position to engage a belt and presser members positioned topresent one end toward a hook while the other end is presented in thepath of one of said rollers as said carriage is moved back and forth onthe ways.

13. Apparatus for attaching belt hooks to belts and the like comprisinghook pressing members, hook supporting means, means for effectivelymoving said pressing means by a predetermined amount including a roller,a carrier therefor, having a slidable block upon which said roller issupported and means passing through said block for moving the sametoward and away from the pressing members.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this28th day of December, 1921.

JOSEPH C. CONN.

